What finally brought my odds-fevered mind some peace was a hymn that reminded me what I believe — that someone is in control of the wheel, and the ball, and the number of pockets, and the length of the spin. And statistics and probabilities hold no sway over Him. A friend dealing with his own cancer shared a performance of the 17th-century German hymn, “What God Ordains is Always Good.” For some reason, I didn’t stop to look up his survival rates, I just clicked play. This is what I heard:
“What God Ordains is always good;/ His will is just and holy./ As He directs my life for me,/ I follow meek and lowly.”